[ninjakeyboard]

I'm not 100% sure I agree with this as stated. Sure if the functionality is in core lib, use it but... it depends...

Consider these three statements:

- No code runs faster than no code. - No code has fewer bugs than no code. - No code is easier to understand than no code.

For a language like scala where there is no json processing in the standard lib, if there is a json library that is battle tested, then by removing my own json code and leaning on that well tried and tested code for serialization/de-serialization, I've removed a whole bunch of code from my own library. The whole point of having modules as abstractions is to keep concerns neatly tucked in their own places to to increase re-use. By subscribing to the idea that my module should implement all of the functionality it needs, we're loosing the benefits of modularization.

I just went through this exercise myself in a library I maintain - I removed my own json code and put a library in. I removed a bunch of code and made the whole thing simpler by leaning on that abstraction.

[skewart]

I think the point of the article is: use external libraries thoughtfully. I don't think he was suggesting not using them at all.

Your example sounds like a situation where a dependency certainly makes sense.

[falcolas]

> ... I've removed a whole bunch of code from my own library

You removed a bunch of code you understood, and added a bunch more code you don't understand, along with whatever technical debt, edge cases, and performance issues which are lingering in that library.

Adding a library is never removing code from your project, it's adding code you don't yet understand to your project. It can still be a net win, but it's not less code for you to maintain.

[cyphar]

> > ... I've removed a whole bunch of code from my own library

> You removed a bunch of code you understood, and added a bunch more code you don't understand, along with whatever technical debt, edge cases, and performance issues which are lingering in that library.

Not all code you've written is good code. Hell, not all code you've written you actually understand. Libraries and dependencies make sense in many cases. Don't write yet another JSON parsing library unless you really need to.

> Adding a library is never removing code from your project, it's adding code you don't yet understand to your project. It can still be a net win, but it's not less code for you to maintain.

It's referencing code that you don't maintain. If the maintainer is bad, use a different library.